April 8, 2024

Photo credit: TerraClear

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Robotic tech startup TerraClear announced it has raised $15 million in new funding from its existing investors to better position the company to dominate the $2.7 billion rock management market. 

As long as there’s been agriculture, there’s been a rock problem. I live in New England, and the view from my office includes a stone wall built on my property by farmers who worked this land long before my arrival. Most of the stones are surprisingly huge, and I often imagine the back-breaking work done by both humans and horses or oxen to dig out, move, and stack those rocks. 

“Our mission is to free farmers from the worst jobs on the farm,” stated TerraClear. “While technology is rapidly opening up what’s possible in farming, we will never waiver in our commitment to solutions that work for farmers. We’re grateful that our investors believe in this mission as strongly as we do.”

With offices and workshops in Issaquah, Washington, and Grangeville, Idaho, and local teams across the U.S. Midwest, TerraClear has broken away from typical rock-picking tech design, which has proven to be inefficient, to develop and launch its first product – Rock Picker,  a robotic arm implement that can easily be mounted on the front of a skid steer or track loader.

The Rock Picker works under any field conditions, from traditionally cultivated land to no-till fields, seeded fields, stubble, or pastureland with minimal compaction or disturbance to the soil – a key benefit in modern farming where shifts are occurring toward soil conservation.

This is actually a big development. First, rock picking is intense back-breaking work. Second, rocks cause more damage than you would think, with medium to large-scale farms incurring costs of between $5,000 – $150,000 per year due to damage to expensive machinery and other problems caused by rocks.

Today, the company also offers its TerraClear Rock Map, giving farmers the ability to determine where rocks are in a field before they become a bigger issue, showing the size and location of each rock and tracking the progress as they’re picked from the field, making the process far more efficient. 

The company explained that in 2023 it solved any remaining mechanical and software challenges, and beginning this year, is focused on bringing its well-heeled solutions with a focus on increasing efficiency and reducing costs to every farmer. And although TerraClear stated that it receives steady interest in its platform from Europe, Australia, and Canada, its geographic focus remains predominantly on the U.S. heartland.

With their newly gained funds, TerraClear intends to grow its commercial sales operation, enhance its distribution partnerships, and advance its end-to-end robotic rock management technology. 

“Our success is in developing innovative yet practical solutions that solve farmers’ problems,” said Trevor Thompson, president, TerraClear. “The additional funds enable us to move faster to meet demand, as well as increase investment in strategic OEM partnerships, and advance our technology.”

The company is continuing to hire local representatives to work with distributors, ag retailers, and service providers who have established relationships within farming communities. At the same time, in order to reduce the need for new equipment, it’s expanding its partnerships with OEMs to make its technology solutions more accessible by increasing compatibility with more platforms. 

Additionally TerraClear noted that rocks are just the beginning for the business. The company has collected data on soil conditions, debris, rocks, and efficient path planting, and has a platform to expand datasets that translates solutions to new areas. And as the team integrates their AI tech across high resolution data acquisition, decision support, and robotics, they expect to gain a huge advantage in delivering tangible solutions for farmers. 

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and Agtech Intel News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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